Excise duties on goods

The excise duty concerns both sugarless and sugared products. Ice cream often contains ingredients, such as chocolate coating, nuts and almonds, which are taxable under the Danish Chocolate Tax Act (Chokoladeafgiftsloven).

Excise duty is payable on ice cream of all kinds and on ice cream mixes for the commercial production of ice cream.

Businesses must calculate and pay the excise duty on the issue of the goods, or on receiving the goods from abroad.

There is a triviality limit, which means that businesses with annual sale or annual import of taxable goods equivalent to excise duty that does not exceed DKK 10,000 do not have to register as tax warehouse keepers or consignees, and pay excise duty.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning rights, obligations and rules for ice cream, see our Danish-language legal guide.

The excise duty concerns a wide range of goods, such as chocolate and chocolate products, cocoa mass, powder, butter and preparations of any kind, liquorice juice and liquorice products, marzipan and nougat, confectionery, boiled sweets, marshmallow products, chewing gum, candied fruit and peel, etc.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning rights, obligations and rules for chocolate and sugar confectionery products, see our Danish-language legal guide.

If you import goods containing chocolate or ingredients that are subject to excise duty on raw materials, you will have to pay a financial levy.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning rights, obligations and rules for the financial levy, see our Danish-language legal guide.

Learn more about:

Registration of Non-Danish Company

Declaration of excise duties

Payment of excise duties (slettet)

Ice cream

There is no excise duty on taxable ice cream and ice cream mixes delivered to abroad by registered businesses. 

There is no excise duty on goods supplied to diplomatic missions, international institutions, etc.

The Customs and Tax Administration may grant the reimbursement of excise duty on goods subject to excise duty that are commercially supplied to abroad.

After the end of each excise duty period, rather than applying to the Customs and Tax Administration for reimbursement, registered consignees may instead declare the excise duty on taxable goods that are delivered to abroad, on the excise duty declaration, so that the excise duty with reimbursement entitlement is included in the statement of the payable excise duty.

As from 1 January 2020, it has become possible to apply for reimbursement of excise duties on chocolate and sugar confectionery products, coffee and ice cream used for humanitarian aid work.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning exemption from and reimbursement of excise duties, see our Danish-language legal guide.

Chocolate and sugar confectionery products

Subject to various conditions, exemption from excise duty may be granted for goods subject to excise duty in the following groups:

• pharmaceutical products etc.

• products containing cocoa

• health products

• diplomats etc.

• deliveries to abroad

• manufacture of duty-free products

• manufacture of ice cream

The following exemptions apply to businesses that are not registered as tax warehouse keepers under the Danish Act on Excise Duties on Chocolate and Sugar Confectionery Products (Lov om afgift af chokolade- og sukkervarer).

Businesses may apply to the Customs and Tax Administration for authorisation for reimbursement of or exemption from excise duties on chocolate products that are subject to excise duty, which are commercially;

• delivered to abroad; or

• used in the manufacture of duty-free goods delivered to abroad.

Registered consignees may, without authorisation, after the expiry of the excise duty period, declare the amount eligible for reimbursement for goods delivered to abroad directly on the tax declaration.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning exemption from and reimbursement of excise duty, see our Danish-language legal guide.

Financial levy

Duty-free imports

Goods imported or received from abroad are exempt from excise duty to the same extent and under the same conditions as are stipulated for exemption from excise duty under the provisions of the Danish VAT Act (Momsloven).

Deliveries to abroad

The Customs and Tax Administration may grant authorisation for reimbursement of the excise duty on goods subject to excise duty and to the financial levy that are commercially delivered to abroad.

Registered consignees may, without authorisation, after the expiry of the excise duty period, declare the amount eligible for reimbursement for goods subject to the financial levy that are delivered to abroad directly on the tax declaration.

For more detailed, comprehensive legal information concerning exemption from and reimbursement of excise duty, see our Danish-language legal guide.